paperback, 292 pages
Published July 24, 2013 by Hidden Gnome Publishing, Brand: Hidden Gnome Publishing.
Barely a 3 — (avoiding spoilers) I liked some of the concepts & magic system but the writing really outs it as a first book. I would have liked more character development, internal consistency, and less video game-y feeling combat sequences (e.g. the giant swords seeming to be driven by cool factor rather than utility).
Once I accepted that the book was not going to be that great, I had a fun time with it. It feels very much like discount Sanderson - lots of action, lots of magic, utilitarian prose. I don't remember too well how Mistborn read, but I would say overall that the writing is a bit lower level than that. There's not too much character development, but there are giant magic swords.
The setting doesn't get a change to grow much by itself - there's a forest, there's a city, but there's no real sense of geography. The territories are interesting, but they're also all over the place. It feels like Wight is throwing everything against the wall to see what will stick, but not delving too deeply into any particular element. There are too many monsters that appear once, too many characters with derivative names and no development.
All of …
Once I accepted that the book was not going to be that great, I had a fun time with it. It feels very much like discount Sanderson - lots of action, lots of magic, utilitarian prose. I don't remember too well how Mistborn read, but I would say overall that the writing is a bit lower level than that. There's not too much character development, but there are giant magic swords.
The setting doesn't get a change to grow much by itself - there's a forest, there's a city, but there's no real sense of geography. The territories are interesting, but they're also all over the place. It feels like Wight is throwing everything against the wall to see what will stick, but not delving too deeply into any particular element. There are too many monsters that appear once, too many characters with derivative names and no development.
All of that said, after the slow first 25% of the book, I had a good time. I'll read the rest of the series (especially at the price!), but fully acknowledging the appeal is essentially a novel-form JRPG.
When I started this I wasn't sure if I was liking it and then boom! Sucked me in. I finished nearly the whole thing in a day, which is unusual for me. Started book two already.
I just couldn't get into this book.
